Tag Archives: Religious philosophy

Is God Really Our Lord?

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Is God Really Our Lord? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 11:09am Here is a challenging quote from Kierkegaard that is making the rounds of the blogosphere: “The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do … Continue reading →

Is Biblical Inspiration a Proof of Calvinism?

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Is Biblical Inspiration a Proof of Calvinism? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 2:26pm SOMEONE HAS WRITTEN about a “Calvinist challenge,” thus: “I wanted to pass along a challenge a Calvinist has thrown down. My answer, thus far, has been that Scripture is silent on the ‘mode’ of inspiration, leaving the Calvinist with the same conundrum. I wondered if you might have a further thought on the following challenge:” “How is it that God inspired the Scriptures in such a way that every word—indeed, every jot and tittle—was what He determined? Every standard evangelical definition of … Continue reading →

Thomas Campbell’s Declaration & Address

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Thomas Campbell’s Declaration & Address by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 9:33am ANOTHER RECENT QUERY: What is your opinion of the relevance or validity of Proposition 6 in Thomas Campbell’s “Declaration and Address,” which reads thus: 6. That although inferences and deductions from Scripture premises, when fairly inferred, may be truly called the doctrine of God’s holy word, yet are they not formally binding upon the consciences of Christians farther than they perceive the connection, and evidently see that they are so; for their faith must not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the … Continue reading →

“Common Grace” in Calvinism

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“Common Grace” in Calvinism by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, September 25, 2009 at 9:17am A STUDENT WRITES, “Calvinists talk about ‘common grace.’ The idea seems to be that whatever joy we experience in this life is attributed to God’s grace. I don’t remember you mentioning this in Doctrine of Grace. Do you agree with this notion?” MY REPLY: Not all Calvinists see eye-to-eye on the “common grace” concept. One of my Westminster Seminary professors, Cornelius Van Til, was its main defender. I do mention this concept in my grace course but do not dwell on it. See the section … Continue reading →

A note on Psalm 105:18

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A note on Psalm 105:18 by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 3:47pm A friend writes: “I was listening to a tape of Joyce Meyers. She read from her Bible Ps. 105:18, which is referring to Joseph. Her version said this: “The iron entered into his soul.” I tried to look it up in my Bible, and that version didn’t imply that meaning. Mine says ….his neck was put in irons. Now, I checked on Blue Letter Bible, and the only versions that listed it the way Joyce Meyers read it, is Young’s Literal Translation and Darby … Continue reading →

OT Judicial Killings

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OT Judicial Killings by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Monday, September 7, 2009 at 3:20pm I received this query via e-mail: “A friend questions the morality of a God who condemns sin, specifically murder, yet orders mass killings in the Old Testament. In addition, this friend questions the morality and contradiction of a God who would sentence one to hell for disobedience. All of which is the end result of so-called liberal Christianity that has rejected the Bible as the Word of God. “I have concluded that God sentencing one to hell is a direct result of the holiness of God … Continue reading →